September 25, 2007

PRRS hits another province in Vietnam

A Porcine Reproductive and Respiratory Syndrome (PRRS) outbreak among pigs has recently occurred in Vietnam's northern Lang Son province, raising the total affected localities nationwide to three, according to a local animal health agency on Monday (September 24).

The disease has hit five pigs raised by a household in the province, the Department of Animal Health under the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development said, noting that their specimens were tested positive to PRRS.

Local veterinary agency has slaughtered infected pigs to prevent the disease from spreading, and intensified disease surveillance.

PRRS was first recognized in the United States in the mid-1980s and is now present in most pig producing countries. The symptoms include reproductive failure, pneumonia and increased susceptibility to secondary bacterial infection.